Key case



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' W. R. BUXTON KEY CASE Filed Feb. 8, 1923 2 shuns-Sheet 1 %1 vATTORNEYS W. R. BUXTON KEY CASE lune 17, 192%.,

2 Sheetfir-Shout 2 Filed Feb. 8, 1923 4 lNVf-INTQEI I ATTORNEYS PatentedJune 17, 19244,

WARNER It. B'UXTON, OF LONGIVIEADOW,

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNO'R TO BUXTON,

INCORPORATED, 0F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 01? MASSA-CHUSETTS.

KEY

CASE.

Application filed February 8, 1823. Serial No. 617,789.

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, WARNER R, BUXTON, citizen of the United States,residing at Longmeadow, in the county of Hampden and State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Key Cases,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in cases for keys and the likeand is a development of the invention disclosed in United States LettersPatent No. 1,443,937 granted January 30, 1923.

According to said patent, stiffening means are provided to lie betweenthe lines of fold of the case and resist the tendency of the flapsthereof to fold along other lines which a,

are closer together than the intended lines of fold. Such stiffeningmeans, moreover, preferably consists ofa member which is not fixedlysecured to the case but is capable of moving within limits, between theback of the case and the folded flaps to adjust itself therebetween asoccasion requires, the better to perform its intended function, The keycase usually has a metal plate eX- tending across the back of the casenear the topthereof and the stiffening means are needed primarily at thelower end of the back, but a second metal plate at the last namedlocation is not the desired solution for the problem because it detractsfrom the desired flexibility of the back and makes the case nearly rigidand nonyielding when carried in the pocket. A stiffening member, such asleather or the like, permanently secured to the case at the locationdescribed permits the back to have flexibility but it does notaccomplish the object, as well as it should, because it bends readily asthe back is bent. The best results, according to my experience, areobtained by the use of a floating stiffening member which does not tendto follow the back or the flaps as they curve in opposite direc tions onthe application of pressure to the sides of the case (defined by thelines of fold) but tends to follow the lines of fold and extend in astraight line therebetween and remain flat to effectively perform thebracing function. The present invention is concerned with a key casehaving a floating stiffening member.

The stiffening means, as disclosed in the above mentioned patent,extends fromcone end of the case to the other and is substantiallycoextensive in area and shape with'the back of the key case. While thisarrangementsatisfactorily accomplishes the in tended objects, I havefound that it can be improved by confining the stiffening or bracingaction entirely to the top' and bottom of the case, allowing the centralportion to have considerable flexibility. The thickest portion of a keycase, when 'well loaded with keys, is intermediate its'upper and lowerends and a well loaded case naturally tends to bulge at thispointflbecause the largest portion of the keys,the l1eads,are locatedthere and because these heads overlap. It is desirable to permit areasonable amount of bulging at the location described in order toenable the case to be well loaded with keys and, in order to allow thebulging, the sides of the case should be allowed to draw together, at alocation between the top and bottom of the case, closer than the normaldistance defined by the lines of fold,

This invention has for its object to provide a key case havingstifiening means designed to lie across the back thereof adjacent itsupper and lower ends and designed to float between the back and thefolded flaps of the case at the lower end thereof in orderto tend tokeep the sides of the folded key case in substantially parallel relationat its upper and lower ends, the arrangement being such thatintermediate such ends the sides of the case may be drawn inwardly intomuch closer relation.

Another object of the invention is to provide" a key case having amember hinged at one end to the back of the key case near one endthereof and carrying at its other end a part which is adapted to liebetween the lines of fold of the case near the opposite end of thelatter and which has a stiffening function, said member intermediate itsends being substantially devoid of the stiffening function. I v

'A further object of the invent-ion is to provide in a key case, amember hinged at one end to the back of the case near the upper edgethereof and extending substantially to the lower edge of the back, aseries of key holders and a support therefor mounted near the upper edgeof the back, and a part secured to thelower end of said iscsa gs gg yazm member at a distance from said support to render said member capableof performing 'the stiffening function.

According to another feature of the invention the last named part may beso secured to said member as to form a pocket.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following descriptionand in the illustrative embodiment of the invention in the accompanyingdrawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational View of an open key case embodying theinvention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are side and rear eleva tional views of the case whenclosed and filled'with' keys, illustrating the bulging of the case andthe yielding of the sides to permit the bulgin Fig. 4 is a sectionalelevational view of the key case;

Fig. 5 is a conventional view of a closed key case, illustrating acondition which the invention is designed to overcome; and

Figs. 6 and 7 are views, taken similarly to Fig. 1, showing detailedvariations of the construction shown therein.

Referring to these drawings: the case proper consists of a strip 10 of aflexible material, such as leather or the like, and the end portions 11and 12 of this strip are adapted to be folded along the lines 13 and 14over the central portion 15 and to be sccured in overlapping relation byany suitable means, such as a glove fastener, of which the male andfemale sections shown at 16 and 17 respectively. The fastening devices16 and 17 are usually located centrally between the upper and loweredges of the flaps, as shown. Extending across the cen tralportion 15,constituting the back of the key case, and disposed near its upper edgeis a member 18, which is not readily flexible and is usually of thinmetal, and from this member a series of key holders 19. in the shape ofsnap hooks, are pivotally suspended. This member supported by the back15, in a manner which will later be described in detail, and its endslie substantially coincident with. the lines of fold 13 and l t. Themember 18 prevents bending of the back 15 near its upper edge, causes itto remain in flat form, and prevents the flaps 11 and 12 from being bentupon lines of fold which are any nearer together than. those shown.

Ordinarily, no means is provided at the lower end of the case to preventits sides from being forced toward one another as tl e result ofpressure applied in the direction of the arrows 20 and at the generallocation shown in Fig. Such pressure causes the back 15 to bulgerearwardly and the lines of fold are brought considerably closertogether. The flaps 11 and being fastened together centrally and inpivotal manner, an inward movement of the flaps at their lower endscauses the upper ends to move in a reverse manner and to spread apartand bulge outwardly from the back 15, leaving a relatively large openingat the top of the case through which keys and their holders 19 mayescape and also releasing these keys and holders from the restraininginfluence normally exerted by the folded flaps.

As a means for remedying this condition, I provide a member 22, which issecured to the back 15 and has one part, at least, as 21, which is of awidth substantially equal. to that of the back and which is adapted tolie between the aforesaid lines of fold near the lower portion of thecase when the flaps are closed and. resistany pressure ordinarilyapplied on the sides of the case. This member 22 is, by preference.secured to back 15 along one edge, desirably the upper edge, as by thestitchings 23, or in any other suitable way to allow the member to moveto and fro between back 15 and the flaps 11 and 12 when in closedposition. Where, as is usually the case, pocket is provided on the rearface of member 22, as herein after described. the member is hinged sothat its movement is of swinging nature to allow access to the pocketwhen desired as well as to permit the limited to and fro movement abovedescribed.

The member 22 may be constructed of any suitable material but usually isof leather or the like and where the material is of sufficient stifinessto accomplish, by itself, the bracing action, I cut away the sides, ofthe 'member, intermediate its ends, as at 2 1-, to narrow it and spaceits edges a material distance from the lines of fold 13 and 14-. Theresult of this arrangement will be clearly apparent from Fig. 3, whereinthe sides of the case, intermediate its ends, are allowed to drawinwardly toward one another, as shown at 24, by reason of the omissionof the bracing action at this location. The provision for the drawingtogether of. the sides allows the flaps 12 to bulge outwardly relativelyto the back, as at 25, to accommodate the bulky parts such as theoverlapping heads 2. of the keys 76. as well as the broader lowerportions of the hooks 19. That is, slack is pro vided so that flaps 11and 12 may be drawn together and fastened over a more bulky lot of keysthan could be used if there were no such provision, as described.

The key holders 19 and their support 18 maybe variously constructed asdesired, and the present showing. which is disclosed. in the aforesaidpatent, is merely an illustrative example of one of many suitablecoustructions.

'..he particular way, in which flexibility of the case, intermediate itsends, is provided for, is not particularly important. Various ways ofobtaining the same result will occur to those skilled in the art and theone construction described, together with those described hereinafter,will serve as illustrative examples of a few of many ways of obtainingthe desired result.

' Where the member 22 is as described in connection with Fig. 1, ofstiff material, it may be weakened intermediateits ends and madeflexible at this location. Various ways of making the central section ofmember 22 flexible will readily occur to those skilled in the art and Ihave shown two representative examples in Figs. 6 and 7. In Fig. 6, themember 22 is weakened by providing a plurality of openings 26 therein.In Fig. 7, the same result is obtained by scoring the member 22vertically, as indicated at 27.

Any of the cases described may, and preferably do, have pockets for thereception of any suitable articles, such as license and registrationpapers. Such a pocket is con veniently formed by stitching a strip 29 tomember 22 along three edges, as the edges 30. The provision of strip 29aids in the stiffening function and therefore it should be located atthe bottom of member 22 and should not extend upwardly far enough toprevent the desired flexibility of the case in its central portion.Desirably all of strip 29 is located below the heads of the keys asshown in Fig. 7. The material of which member 22 is made may readily bequite flexible in itself and the recessing or weakening of it may not inall cases be necessary. With a member of such material the strip 29 maybe made of stiff material to give the bracing action at the lower end ofthe case.

The invention is also characterized in that it does not merely providefor flexibility in the central portion of the case but rather providesfor controlled flexibility as distinguished from unlimited andunrestrained flexibility. The side walls of the case may be drawninwardly to a predetermined degree and the case restrained within properlimits from undue flexibility.

The invention has been disclosed herein, in a preferred embodiment withdetailed variations, for the purposes of illustration but the scope ofthe invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by theforegoing description.

Claims:

1. In a case for keys and the like, wherein the ends of a strip offlexible material constitute flaps at least one of which is foldableover the central portion of the strip to afford an enclosure and aseries of key holders are supported from said central portion near oneend thereof by means which resist pressure on the sides of the casealong the lines of fold of said flaps, means mounted on said centralportion for movement to and fro between the latter and the folded flaps,

said means provided with a relatively stifl portion adapted when theflaps are closed to lie between the sides of the case near its other endonly and keep the flaps properly spaced.

2. In a case for keys and the like, wherein the ends of a strip offlexible material constitute flaps at least one of which is foldableover the central portion of the strip to afford an enclosure and aseries of key holders are supported from' said central portion near oneend thereof by means which resist pressure on the sides of the casealong the lines of fold of said flaps, a member secured to said portionnear said end and extending into close proximity to the other endthereof. and a reenforc ing member secured to said member near its lastnamed end and adapt ed, when said flaps are closed to lie between thesides of the case near the other end thereof and keep them properlyspaced, said last named member being so located that adjacent portionsof said key holders and last named members are in spaced relation.

3. In a case for keys and the like, wherein the ends of a strip offlexible material con? stitute flaps at least one of which is foldableover the central portion of the strip to afford an enclosure and aseries of key holders are supported from said central portion near oneend thereof by means which resist pressure on the sides of the casealong the lines of fold of said flaps, a relatively flexible memberhinged to said portion near said end and extending into close proximityto the other end thereof, a strip so secured to said member as to formtherewith a pocket, and so locatedthat the edge nearest the key holdersis spaced therefrom a substantial distance, said strip serving tostiffen the free end of said hinged member whereby such end is adaptedto maintain the sides of the case in properly spaced relation when theflaps are closed.

4. In a case for keys and the like, where in the ends of a strip offlexible material constitute flaps at least one of which is foldableover the central portion of the strip to afford an enclosure and aseries of key holders are supported from said central portion near oneend thereof by means which resist pressure on the sides of the casealong the lines of fold of said flaps, a member mounted on said portionnear said end for movement to and fro between said portion and thefolded flaps, said member extending into close proximity to the otherend of said portion and near such end having its edges disposedsubstantially coincident with the lines of fold of said flaps, portionsof said member being cut away intermediate said ends to allow the sidesof the case to be drawn together more closely near the central ortion ofthe case than at its ends.

5. n a case for keys and the like, where- 471. matinee.

in the endsoi a strip of flexible material eonstitute flaps at least oneof Which is toldable over the central portion of the strip to afford anenclosure and a series of key holders are supported from said centralportion near one end thereof by means which resist pressure on the sidesof the case'along the lines of told of said flaps, a member mounted onsaid portion near said end for movement to and fro between said portionand. the toided flaps, said member extending into close proximity to theother end of said portion and near such end having its edges disposedsubstantially coincident with the lines of fold ofsaid flaps, portionsof said membeing rendered more flexible intermediate said ends to allowthe sides of the case to be drawn together more closely near the entraiportion of the case than at its ends 6. In a case for keysand the like,\VllQIG- in the ends of a strip of flexible material constitute flaps atleast one of which is toldable over the central portion thereof to atford an enclosure, a member hinged to said portion near one end and,extending into close proximity to the other end thereof, a series of keyholders mounted on said member near the first named end, and areenforcing member so secured to the opposite 30 end of said member asto form a pocket and so located to lie in spaced relation with said heyholders.

7 In a case for keys and the. like, wherein the ends of a strip offlexible materia constitute iaps at least one of which is "fold ableover the central portion thereof to at ford an enelosure. a memberhinged to said portion near one end and extending into close proximityto the other end thereof, said member at the last named end havinn' aWidth substantially equal to the spacing? of the lines of fold of saidflaps and inter mediate its ends having; a portion of less Width,

8. In a case for keys and the like. where in the ends of a strip offlexible mater constitute flaps at least one of which is told able overthe central portion thereof to at ford an enclosure, a member hinged tosaid portion near one end and extending into close proximity to theother end thereof said member at the last named end having a Widthsubstantially equal to the spacing oi the lines of fold of said flapsand intermediate its ends having a portion oi. less Width and a membersecured to the l: named end of said member to form a pocket.

in testimony whereof I have atlixed my signature.

WARNER R. 'BUXTOE.

